CSR beyond black and white: The role of multinational corporations in the context of deep poverty and human development

In this research project, we engage in theory building about the
so-called political responsibility of private enterprises in the
context of human development and poverty. In the past years, a
debate about the relationship between business and society has
emerged that ascribes private enterprises certain
"political" responsibilities which used to be the sole
task of governments. However, the concept of political CSR maintains
several limitations, which we seek to address and overcome in this
research project. Our research objective is twofold: First, on a
theoretical level, we will critically analyze the different
conceptual approaches that ascribe a particular role to private
enterprises in efforts to contribute to human development and
poverty reduction and provide a respective framework of political
CSR. Second, we will conduct an in-depth explorative case study of
actual practices of private enterprises in order to further develop
more descriptive and explanatory accounts of political CSR.